How The Iron Bridge Foundation helps
by Lisa East
After many months of planning and development, we’re very pleased to launch The Iron Bridge Foundation, a charitable trust that financially supports talented young Kiwis trying to reach their goals.
The idea behind starting an organisation like this came when founding Director, Brent Smith, realised how important it was for us to give back to the communities that have supported our business over the past 13 years.
Iron Bridge’s General Manager of Property Management, Pam Marshall followed through with the idea of setting up a charitable foundation, and we’re very excited to now be able to launch it, and see the positive impact it has for individuals and our surrounding communities.
“At the heart of it, we want to make a lasting contribution to the communities we work in,” says Pam. “There are so many worthy recipients out there and we’re excited to meet people on their journey and assist them in achieving their goals.”
Our mission is to help young New Zealanders have a better quality of life, make the most of their talents and fulfil their ambitions. And we believe that a hand up has much greater impact than a hand out, so our focus is on funding the practical things that individuals and groups need to succeed in achieving their goals.
The funding we provide is targeted at youth and generally falls into two categories:
- Community groups – Providing practical funding for youth-focussed community groups that helps them enhance and increase the services they offer.
- Individuals – Providing practical funding for talented young people who are working hard to realise specific goals.
The first project The Iron Bridge Foundation has supported is cyclist Keagan Girdlestone. He was an amateur cyclist that through our help was able to secure an international professional cycling contract.
“With funding from The Iron Bridge Foundation, I was able to travel to Australia to compete in the Tour of Adelaide. Thanks to the exposure I got on this trip I have since been signed by a professional cycling team – an amazing opportunity!” says Keagan.
“Helping people is at the heart of what Iron Bridge does as an organisation and we’re excited to be involved in our communities in more than just business,” says Pam.
If you know of any worthy young person or group looking for financial assistance to reach their goals, please put them in touch with us – take a look at our site and apply here.
